If LED lighting is fully adopted in Taiwan, the country can reduce its electricity consumption by 12.78%, an equivalent to the combined capacity of two of its existing nuclear power plants, according to industry observers.
The observers believe by 2030, global LED lighting applications can help to save more than 50% of energy used.
According to studies, lighting accounts for 19% of total electricity used in the world. With the most energy-efficient lighting systems, 30% of electricity used by lighting can be saved. In addition, by using LED lighting with smart grid, another 30% of energy can be saved.
The observers noted that lighting systems currently account for 17-18% of total electricity used in Taiwan. Once LED lighting penetration reaches 20%, 2.56% of electricity can be saved. When the penetration rate reaches 50%, said the observers, electricity consumption can be reduced by 6.39%, , which is close to half of the electricity that can generated by a new nuclear power plant that Taiwan is building. The observers added that if the penetration rate reaches 100% in Taiwan, the savings will be close to the electricity generated by two of the three existing nulcear power plants in Taiwan.
Power generated by solar energy is also under debate. The limited growth of solar PV systems in Taiwan is due to limited land area and effective sunshine hours. According to studies, in 2012 Taiwan exported around 5,500MW of solar cells but domestic installations were only 10MW, accounting for 0.007% of total electricity generated. Market research institutes stated that if Taiwan uses solar PV systems to replace the 2,700MW of electricity that can be generated from the new nuclear power plant, with effective sunshine hours, Taiwan will need at least 10GW of installations. This is because nuclear power plants can operate non-stop for 24 hours while Taiwan only has four effective sunshine hours in a day (due to the angle of the reflection).
Using 10GW of installations, the cost of solar modules will be around NT$240 billion (US$8.09 billion), and with the cost of land and construction, 10GW of solar installations will cost around NT$1 trillion.
